Pacifica makes creative pitch to win new dog park

July 26, 2011 12:00:00 AM PDT

By Jonathan Bloom

PACIFICA, Calif. --

Some dog lovers in Pacifica want to unleash the power of the Internet to get their pooches a new place to play. They've entered a contest to win a new dog park; now all they need is people to vote for them.

Meet "Cash" -- he's the canine star of a video produced by a group of Pacifica dog lovers. It seems cash can't find any place to play without a leash in Pacifica, no matter how hard he searches.

"Dogs have to have exercise. I've had people say to me, 'I'm forced to break the law every day, because I have to exercise my dog and there's nowhere to do it,'" said Jana Lane, Cash's owner.

That's why Lane and longtime Pacifica resident Beverly Kingsburry started a group with a few friends called POOCH -- the Pacifica Organization Of Canine Helpers. For five years, they've worked tirelessly to get a dog park built in Pacifica. They found the perfect spot behind a city rec center.

It seems money has been the main obstacle in preventing a dog park from being built.

The POOCH group has managed to win over the city; they say they've even managed to convince the neighbors. Now they say the one thing they need in order for Cash the dog to lose the leash, is money.

"And that's why the video was named 'Money For Cash' because that's all we need is the money so that Cash can have a place to play," said video producer Marisa Ryan.

Now, Ryan is hoping the video she produced, along with editor Matthew Levie, will win them that money, in an online contest called Bark For Your Park.

"That particular shot that's on the screen behind me I think may have taken five, six takes to get right," said Levie.

Animal actors aren't the easiest, but the video won cash a "Woofy" Award from his neighbors and it won Pacifica a place in the final 15.

"I think we have the best video, but in order to win the contest, we need people to vote," said Levie.

There's a week left in the contest. The grand prize is a $100,000, from pet company PetSafe, toward building that dog park. The folks at POOCH are hoping to get enough votes to blow away the competition.

If you want to see the entire video and cast your vote for Pacifica at Bark For Your Park.